July 25 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Gavin Williams, Ross Stripling and Kenny Rosenberg

We don’t have a lot of options today because there are only eight games on the schedule, about half of a full slate. A few aces are occupying some of the best matchups, stealing opportunities for streamers to emerge (how dare you start against the Miami Marlins, Corbin Burnes!). The day is light for everyone, though, and we can still find extra value even with just half of the player pool at our disposal.

Let’s run through Thursday’s probable starters (according to MLB.com) who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups, creating streaming value. Most stats and rankings are from MLB. The full streamer rankings are listed at the bottom.

Taj Bradley, Tampa Bay Rays @ Toronto Blue Jays

Max Scherzer, Texas Rangers vs Chicago White Sox

I’ll just mention these guys quickly because they are owned in about 70-75% of leagues, not really meeting the “streamer” definition. With the day short on games, though, it’s worth looking to see if either is available, as they both have good matchups and should be in a lineup in every league.

Kenny Rosenberg, Los Angeles Angels vs. Oakland Athletics

Onto our proper streamers, Rosenberg has made just 12 big league appearances, four of them starts. His short time has shown a pitcher who walks too many guys and doesn’t strike out enough; that’s a rough profile. He struck out more than a batter per inning in the minor leagues, so there’s a little hope for a better performance there.

Oakland is the team to target if you’re looking for strikeouts, as A’s hitters have struck out the second most of any team. Rosenberg’s last outing was a four-inning relief appearance against these same Athletics, when he gave up just one run with three strikeouts and one walk. Given Oakland’s swing-and-miss ways and bottom-10 rankings in many offensive stats, Rosenberg could repeat that performance.

Rosenberg is a low-level streamer. The matchup is nice, but he has very limited major league work with less-than-stellar numbers. Rosenberg is also at risk of a short start given his time in the bullpen.

Ross Stripling, Oakland Athletics @ Los Angeles Angels

Opposing Rosenberg is Stripling, a player who has been on the IL since late May and is making his first start in almost two months. Stripling did better strikeout work earlier in his career, but he has been well below average since the beginning of 2023. At 34 years old, he’s probably not looking at a bounce-back in that area, though he does limit walks.

The Angels have a dearth of stars, and their biggest returning piece may have suffered a setback. Even when Mike Trout returns, though, there are holes in this lineup that will keep them from being an average offense. Their bottom-10 rankings in most offensive box stats make LA a friendly opponent for starting pitchers.

Stripling is a low-level streamer. His season stats were bad before getting hurt, and there’s a big chance of a short start due to the time he missed.

Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians vs. Detroit Tigers

Williams has made four starts this season, the best of which came against the Tigers (July 8): 5.1 innings, no runs allowed, five strikeouts, one walk. He has been near average striking guys out in 100 career innings and was successful in that area in the minors, so there is a reasonable expectation that he’ll be a strikeout guy, though he has walked too many.

Detroit is more of a middling team than truly bad, sitting closer to the middle of the league than the bottom in most categories. Against weaker pitchers, Detroit might not be a team to target. On a light day with a decent hurler on the mound, though, they are lowly enough to give us an option.

Williams is a low- to mid-level streamer. His short stint is encouraging, but it’s hard to know what to expect with such little information, and Detroit is just an OK matchup.

Thursday’s Streamer Rankings

1. Gavin Williams, CLE
2. Ross Stripling, OAK
3. Kenny Rosenberg, LAA